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DELRAY BEACH — This was before Jeremy Lin was on magazine covers. Before he was sleeping on his teammate's now-famous couch. Before he even stepped foot on an NBA court for meaningful minutes.

Before all that, there was Jeremy Lin, getting heartfelt advice from Michael Chang, another Asian-American trailblazing athlete.

Chang, who's in the Champions Tour division of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, came in contact with Lin shortly after his Harvard career.

"It was through a mutual friend with my wife," Chang said. "I had an opportunity to talk with him a little bit and encourage him, give him some advice on what it's like to play professional sports."

Lin's rise from just trying to make an NBA roster to a phenom with the New York Knicks has captured attention from many who otherwise wouldn't care about basketball. So for Chang, who has an I-knew-him-when perspective, Lin's rise is even more special.

"A lot of fun to watch," Chang said.

Lin can learn plenty from Chang. When Chang, now 40, won the 1989 French Open, he became the youngest male Grand Slam winner - it's hard to call a 17-year-old a "man." Much like the sight of an Asian-American on an NBA court raises eyebrows today, the same was true on the tennis court in Chang's era.

"I got comments about being too small, too short, there haven't been any Asian players and who am I to go out there and turn pro before my 16th birthday, 'Who do you think you are?' type of thing," Chang said. "And that's all good and fine. People want to have their comments and their opinions. Ultimately, you do what you believe in your heart. I think for me, things turned out OK."

That's especially true of Chang fighting off cramps during his epic fourth-round comeback against Ivan Lendl in Paris.

"If you can recall, the situation in Tiananmen Square was going on," Chang said. "The crackdown actually happened the middle Sunday of the French Open. It changed my life in many, many regards. I think in a lot of aspects it helped me to realize, hey, sometimes when you persevere and you don't quit, good things happen."

Chang and Lendl have been reunited in Delray, although they can't meet unless both reach Tuesday's final. On Saturday, Chang lost to Carlos Moya 6-1, 6-4.

Unfortunately for Chang, he flew to South Florida on Thursday night, while the Knicks were visiting the Heat.

"LeBron and company were ready for him," Chang said of Miami's 102-88 victory in which Lin had eight turnovers and eight points.

Chang said he's impressed that Lin has stayed true to the Christian faith they share, remained humble and kept perspective despite sometimes-offensive references to his heritage. Chang said it's important to consider the context and intent of comments.